Teenage father of newborn found buried in a backyard shares his story
LOUISBURG, N.C. (WTVD) -- The father of a Franklin County newborn found buried in the teenage mother's backyard is sharing his story as prosecutors decide whether to press charges in the case.
Sheriff's deputies say the girl's parents didn't know their 16-year-old daughter was pregnant until the day the newborn was found.
The baby's father, 18-year-old Aaron Davis said he wishes he had spoken up about the pregnancy sooner and maybe all of this could have been prevented.
He and the young mother later named their daughter Emma. On Thursday, they gave her a proper burial at a funeral home in Zebulon.
Davis said he found out in September the 16-year-old girl from Louisburg who he had only dated briefly, was pregnant with his child. He said she was hiding it from her parents. "The whole thing was driven by fear," he said.
Davis said over those nine months, he encouraged the mother several times to seek help. On Sunday, June 29, he got a text. "At first she told me that morning that her water had broke," he said. "And I texted her and she didn't text me back. And so I texted her again later on that day. A couple hours afterwards. And that's when she told me she had it and it didn't make it."
Franklin County deputies say the teen mother's father discovered the full-term newborn, weighing 8.5 pounds, wrapped in a grocery bag and buried in their backyard.
"I wish I would've told somebody myself," said Davis. "Instead of waiting for her to do it."
Davis saw his daughter for the first time at a funeral home in Zebulon; he and the young mom later named her Emma. He now has a message for others who find themselves in a similar situation. "Get help. If you're pregnant, don't try to hide it from someone. Tell somebody cause something like this shouldn't happen. It shouldn't."
Franklin County Sheriff Jerry Jones said a preliminary autopsy shows the newborn's umbilical cord was cut too closely and the baby likely bled to death. He expressed his frustration that the district attorney has not already agreed to press charges. District Attorney Sam Currin said he is waiting on the official autopsy results before he moves forward.
